Page 115 of The Assignment: Room 3

“If you didn’t think your actions were questionable, you would just have told me. I’ve always been a good friend to you, Carter. This was bullshit, and you know it. I can take care of my own submissive.”

“Then, why was she begging me not to tell you? Are you sure she’s on the same page? Are you more than her current fuck buddy?”

I grab his shirt across the table and let my right hook fly. “Talk about Celest like that again, and you’ll be eating your meals through a straw for the rest of your life. Consider this a warning shot. She’s mine.”

“Consider that your free shot. You come at me again, I will beat the fucking shit out of you, Flex. You don’t come into my club and disrespect me. I made sure she got home safely. She needed the money. Do you actually think it didn’t cost me money to have my driver take her home? I’m running a deficit with herbecauseshe’s your girl.”

“Then I’ll write you a goddamn check.”

“I don’t want your money, but I deserve your respect. If you tell me she’s the one, then fair enough. I will treat her as such from here on out, but don’t kid yourself that your track record doesn’t scream short-term.”

“She’s the one.” I drop back into my chair. “I thought she trusted me, but she was lying. What do I do with that?”

“Talk to her.”

“I did, but I can tell she’s still holding back. I’ve told her my deep dark secrets, and she is holding onto whatever shit brought her through the doors of Venom and into my life. I don’t want to push her, but I need to know she’s safe.”

“There’s somethingyou’renot telling me.”

I wring my hands through my hair, blowing out a breath. I need to vent. “Someone has been following me. I’ve got cameras and security everywhere. Celest is staying at my place because whoever it was turned up at her place. I didn’t see them, but she saw someone through the window.”

“What can I do to help? If I’d known that, I would’ve come to you straightaway about Celest working the bar. Do you have any suspicions who it might be?”

“There was a guy scoping out my car at Celest’s a while back. He seemed on edge but played it off as being a car enthusiast. I had noticed his car. It seemed out of place in the neighborhood, but the same can be said of me. He told me it was a rental. I had Luther run the plate, but it was fake. I had one of my guys patrol for a fewweeks after, but there was no further sign of him. I didn’t recognize him.”

“So how do you know they are looking for you? Could it be someone from Celest’s past?”

“Before that happened, I had someone follow me home on my motorcycle. They were in my parking garage. When I stepped into the elevator to go up to my apartment, they were standing in the shadows. No sign when I tried to find them.”

“Fuck. Why am I just finding out about this now?”

“I haven’t told anyone. Luther is my head of security, and he’s the only person who needed to know.”

“I’m assuming you have cameras everywhere now?”

“Yeah.”

“Even at Venom?”

“It’s already crawling with cameras, and it is members only. No one is getting in there without having their driver’s license scanned.”

“And if this person has a really good fake license?”

“I’ve got twenty-four-seven security on Celest, her daughter, and her mom.”

“What about you? Who’s got your back?”

“Me. I was a fucking Navy SEAL. Anyone comes at me, I’m taking them out.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A few months. It hasn’t been constant. I figured I’d done enough to warn off whoever it was There have been no red flags until the other night in Celest’s backyard. She said she wasn’t even sure it was a person. It could have been an animal. It was dark.”

“But you think it was a person.”

“Yes. I immediately took them to my place. I’ve had their entire house and neighborhood fitted with every security measure available.”

“It’s a rough-as-hell area.”

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